A woman accused of being the owner of a dog which bit a teenage girl in a park has been cleared.

A jury took just 25 minutes to unanimously decide that Clare Breen’s dog, Becky, did not bite the hand of 16-year-old Lucinda McGrath in Lund Park, Keighley, last July.

Breen was accused of being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control in a public place and caused injury a Miss McGrath.

Miss McGrath claimed Becky, an American Bulldog, had bitten her after Breen fell in the park and the dog slipped its lead.

But Breen, 31, told Leeds Crown Court that Becky was playful and excited to be free, but did not bite anyone.

She did admit that her other dog, a Mastiff-Labrador cross called Jerry, attacked Miss McGrath’s Springer Spaniel Ted.

During the trial the court heard a description of the injuries to Ted from one of Miss McGrath’s interviews with police.

A passage read out said: “My dog has been left on the floor with its belly and intestines hanging out. The dog had large chunks of muscle hanging from holes around its body.”

Breen sobbed as the not guilty verdict was returned this lunch time.

A lesser charge, of being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control in a public place, was put to her regarding Jerry’s attack on Ted.

His Honour Judge Scott Wolstenholme sat as a District Judge to take the guilty plea from Breen. The crime is usually dealt with by magistrates.

Breen, of Malsis Crescent, Keighley, will be sentenced for that charge on Monday at Leeds Crown Court.